


Magician's B-Side Mix

by AgeofZero



Series: Magician's Mixtape [1]
Category: Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Bullied!AU, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Spoilers for "For the Sake of the Magician", Trans Naoto (Persona 4)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 15:52:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14772599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgeofZero/pseuds/AgeofZero
Summary: Slices of "For the Sake of the Magician" told from the perspective of one Narukami Yu.





	1. Build God Then We'll Talk (Lockers)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DiLithiumDragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiLithiumDragon/gifts).
  * Inspired by [For the Sake of the Magician](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14379723) by [DiLithiumDragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiLithiumDragon/pseuds/DiLithiumDragon). 



> I'm not the writer that my brother is, but I am contributing to this story so here goes nothing.  
> He beta's mine, I beta his.  
> I'll be posting any sort of companion doodle I have for his story here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts had around the high school lockers.

The first is fairly innocent. There's a letter sitting on the top of his shoes, a small heart sticker sealing it shut. Yu assumes it's a love letter, but he doesn't open it. He sighs, drops it in the trash, and moves on with the day. It's only been a couple of weeks since he arrived in Inaba, and he's still sore about Hanamura-san's situation to consider finding a date.

(The writer of the letter, presumably, finds him leaving after school and looks upset as she asks why he didn't come to meet her at lunch. He politely rejects her and leaves. He didn't realize he'd unwittingly started a whole new challenge within the school body from that otherwise normal encounter.)

\----

The Narukami Challenge? Yu puzzles over this as he leaves the most recent encounter with someone trying to confess their love to him. The girl had been accompanied by two of her friends, who laughed and mentioned the challenge in the context of reassuring her. (He didn't realize asking someone out could be considered a challenge. Didn't someone talk about "The Amagi Challenge" at some point?)

What was the point of it? To embarrass themselves in a way the school could keep track of? Yu shakes his head; Inaba students had too much time on their hands for gossip. In the meantime, he keeps throwing away new letters. He's noticed Hanamura-san doing the same thing some mornings.

\----

Yu has never opened one of these love letters left in his locker. He doesn't even think about it as he tosses it into the trash to get it out of his locker at this point. But after the fifteenth time he's been stopped to hear someone's "heartfelt" confession while walking with Hanamura in the hallways in less than fifteen days, his patience has gotten thin. They always shoot glares at Hanamura, as if their embarrassment is his fault. His rejections have gotten practical; to the point and way less polite as a result. He can't stand the looks they're shooting an innocent boy while they try to seem sweet and desirable as a girlfriend (or boyfriend, surprisingly).

\----

Yu is livid. Yu is _Livid_. He heard about the Hanamura Challenge on the same fringes as the challenge based on Amagi and himself, and when he found out what it was for Yosuke-san... It was a hell they were trying to force upon him. And Yosuke-san, who can't help but hope _this_ time is different, keeps reading the letters and going to have his heart and spirit crushed by these _disgusting heartless people_. When he sees another collection of love notes in his own locker, all he can see is the heartbreaking expression on Yosuke-san's face. He rips them into shreds, one by one, with a vindictive sense of _righteous fury_ as he thinks about these people turning around and writing some kind of joke confession to continue dragging Yosuke-san down down _down_. They don't deserve to have their words treated with any sort of respect when they're just meaningless.

He's had _Enough_. He sees Yosuke get that heartbreaking little expression his face, and he rips the letter out of Yosuke's hand and tears it to shreds for him. He says Yosuke shouldn't waste his time with them, with _any_ of them. The way his eyes follow the shredded pieces as they fall into the trash makes his mind up. He's going to make sure, for once, that Yosuke's hope is rewarded. It'll take him some time, but he's going to make completely sure. And he's going to make sure Yosuke never sees a nasty letter in his locker ever again.

\----

Love letters still appear in his locker, of course. Yu knows people are usually waiting around the corner to see if he opens them or not. He waits for a bit to see if they reveal themselves by taking a peek at him before slowly and intentionally ripping their letters and throwing them away. He has no time for this bullshit.

\----

He has to get up and get to school an hour earlier now, to keep Yosuke's locker nice and clean and free of the viciousness of their peers, but it's worth it. It's always worth it.

(Eventually, that protective streak will extend to the few friends and fellow outcasts they collect, because they're the kohai and deserve their senpai's protection. But for now, it's just Yosuke.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized belatedly I should absolutely be using songs as the chapter titles so uh. that's going to be a thing.


	2. Every Note (Investigation pt 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yu comes into a strange little town, in the middle of a campaign against Junes.  
> He just doesn't understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just gonna be three parts. There's no real reason not to make it that haha.  
> beta'd by DiLithium, naturally.

Maybe it was because Yu Narukami was new to Inaba. He's always new to every city, every town, every single year. Still, maybe it was because he was new that he didn't understand. There seemed to be an odd and open animosity towards Yosuke, the other city boy transfer student, that didn't exist around him. People fawned over him (they always did in small towns), and in their very next breath disparaged Yosuke.

He'd meant to ask Yosuke about it during that steak thing he offered, but Chie invited herself along and put an end to that plan for the day. That was fine; he could ask another day. And, in the meantime, he could ask her what was going on.

Yosuke seemed intent on leading the way, and not wanting to be part of the conversation, so he took the opportunity on their walk toward wherever they were going to ask about Inaba, and about this weirdness he kept seeing.

"Is there some unusual animosity between you and Hanamura-san?" He asked, startling Chie with the directness. She laughed in response, but didn't answer the question. He didn't rise to her laughter, and she stopped rather quickly, letting a silence stretch out between them for an awkward amount of time. She wanted him to move on, but he wouldn't allow her to brush him off so easily.

"What? It's  _ Hanamura _ ." She said, breaking the silence at last. He gave her a more serious and more blank stare in response. "He's just the town screw-up. He's always getting on people's nerves."

"Why?"

"What d'you mean, why? He's the new kid, he's got that fancy house, he's always crashing his bike--"

"The bike someone keeps slashing the tires of, you mean? Hard not to crash when someone's malicious intent gets involved." She had the presence of mind to turn pink at that. "But that doesn't answer why? What has he done to be suspect for every misdeed?"

"I  _ told _ you. He's the town screw-up." She replied, frowning as well.

"That isn't an answer to my question at all." But he shook his head and let the matter drop for the time being.

He could always try again later.

 

\---

 

"Why did you come with us in the first place, Satonaka-san?" Yu asked, perhaps too bluntly. Thus far, all the interactions they'd shared during the trip to Junes had only confused him further. Chie wasted no time belittling Yosuke and wasted no time complaining about every aspect of a plan she was never part of to begin with. "You don't seem like you want to spend time around Hanamura-san in the first place. Why come at all?"

"I was promised steak!" Chie insisted, as if it was the most obvious fact in the world. Yu's expression fell carefully blank again, and she frowned in confusion.

"You... weren't promised steak." He replied flatly. "You weren't promised anything. You invited yourself along when you weren't even part of the conversation. Hanamura-san told you, reasonably, that he wouldn't have enough money to buy steaks for all of us, which is a completely fair response."

Chie brushed that off, flippantly (much to his absolute frustration). "Oh, Hanamura's always trying to weasel out of things. That's why no one likes him. It's why his not-so secret crush rejected him so badly."

"That isn't a reason or an excuse." He insisted, cutting her off before she could say more. "All you're doing is parroting nonsense bullying. I still don't understand why everyone is so intentionally malicious to Hanamura-san to begin with."

"Because he's the Junes kid, and a screw-up, and it's all his fault that people's businesses in Inaba are failing." She was beginning to sound frustrated with him, but that honestly didn't even register. She had nothing to be frustrated over, because she wasn't explaining anything  _ rational _ .

"That doesn't make sense. It's not even true. Junes is not Hanamura-san's fault. People choosing to shop at Junes since it's here is even less Hanamura-san's fault. You can take that tone all you want, but I still don't understand  _ why _ ."

Chie rolled her eyes. "You'll see. Give it a couple weeks and you'll get it."

Yu frowned. "That isn't an answer, either. Can you answer why you kicked Hanamura-san for an accident that was mostly my fault to begin with?"

"Why do you call him Hanamura-san? He doesn't deserve any of that formality."

He had to take a deep breath at that; was everyone in the town as blind as she clearly was? "Because it's polite? Because he's someone I don't know very well and that's how I was taught? For example, I was taught to answer questions before asking questions of my own." She flushed again at that, and he was glad she had enough self-awareness to feel embarrassed over it.

"Fine. You can try to cover for Hanamura all you like, it's noble of you, but we all know it's  _ always _ his fault. He's a screw-up."

The rest of the walk was much the same. Yu grew frustrated at the complete lack of communication between them, but he didn't give up his determination to find out a reason that made  _ sense _ .

 

\---

 

"Why are you always hanging out with him? You make him lunch, and you spend time with him? Hanamura's not worth it." Chie demanded. She and Yukiko had him alone, for once, after school. 

"Why do you say he's not worth it?" He asked, instead. It wasn't polite, but he was starting to grow impatient with their blockheaded persistence.

"C'mon! A guy like you hanging out with a failure like Hanamura? You don't need to pity him like that."

"But I do. I pity him immensely, because he's a fun and interesting person being bullied on all sides for something that doesn't make any sense. And I hang out with him because I like him."

Both Chie and Yukiko gave him odd looks at that, and stared at him silently for a few minutes. Yukiko spoke up first. "You certainly have some strong opinions, Narukami-san." She said, with a polite smile on her face. "Maybe a little misguided. How could someone who is so despicable be worth your time and attention?"

"Again, why do you say he's not worth it? What makes him so despicable, and so unworthy of basic human decency?" He challenged. Yukiko was a much more... interesting opponent than Chie was, as far as these questions went. Perhaps it was because she was the Innkeeper's daughter, expected to inherit one of the biggest businesses in Inaba (besides Junes, now), but she knew how to double-talk and say ice-cold things in a sweet voice.

"You'll see, sooner or later. He's an absolute mess of a person. Barely human at all, sometimes." Yukiko replied, softly. "He must think so too, because he doesn't stand up for himself. He lets the town say the things they say."

Yu restrained himself from screaming in frustration. "Because it's absolutely possible for one teenager to stand up against an entire town's witch hunt." He replied, voice flat as a board. "I don't understand why you think he deserves to be friendless, alone, and punished for something beyond his control." He turned from them and headed home before they could respond.

Maybe his friendship with them was misguided, if he couldn't get them to understand what was wrong with this picture. Communication was important, after all, and they weren't communicating at all with one another.

 

\---

 

"Ugh, maybe you should just talk to Konishi-senpai about this." Chie finally said, after Yu continued to frown at her explanations and opinions regarding Yosuke. "She was his friend before you got here, maybe she can explain it in a way you can understand."

"I don't think that's possible." Yu replied, with a shrug. "I've talked to all sorts of people already, and they don't seem to have a good reason for Hanamura-san's treatment, either.” 

He knew Yosuke skipped meals. He was too stressed to eat, like a cat who'd been displaced from their home and comfort zone. The lunches were helping, but it wasn't enough to undo the harm that had already been done. He, at least, was doing something to try and help. 

He'd try asking her anyway. Saki, at least, never seemed to speak up when people were coming down on Yosuke. She didn't step in to help, but she didn't add fuel to the flame. Perhaps she'd be more rational to talk to.

 

\---

 

Still, Yu delayed going to Saki to talk about this. Something about it seemed... too personal, as far as Yosuke was concerned. Perhaps not a romantic thing, or maybe it was, but prying that far into Yosuke's life so soon seemed like a bad choice to make. Instead, he went to the two other people who seemed to be Yosuke's friends.

"You wanna know why Yosuke's treated like that by the town?" Kou asked, eyes wide in surprise. Daisuke seemed much more reserved, and his expression didn't betray anything yet.

"I thought, since you two suffer some of the town's... backwards way of thinking, you might understand it better. No one I've asked so far can give me a good reason or explanation for why they do what they do." Yu replied.

"We won't be able to give you one, either." Daisuke spoke up, but Kou shushed him.

"Hmm... Well, we're ostracized because we're gay," Kou began, with a brief sputtering protest from Daisuke beside him (which he soothed with a patient and succinct response that Yu didn't quite catch), "but I honestly don't know how to explain it. I don't understand it, either, except that this is a small town. Yosuke wasn't born here, and he makes a convenient scapegoat." He shrugged. "At least, that's what I think they're probably thinking. Instead of solving their own problems, they can beat up someone weaker than them. It sucks, but this is Inaba."

Yu frowned. "This happens all the time, then." He sighed sadly.

"The adults love to gossip." Daisuke offered. "Anytime someone moves here, or stays at the Amagi Inn, or turns out to be different from tradition, they like to poke and prod and gossip. Sometimes it's harmless. Usually it's not." His words were picked intentionally, carefully, but Yu still didn't understand.

"I think it's never harmless." Yu corrected. "But I guess my last hope here is to talk to Konishi-senpai." Both of the boys nodded at that, and Yu left them to their day.

 

\---


	3. Brainsick (Investigation pt 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation turns to Konishi-senpai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this gets its own chapter. I would've posted it all as one part but Saki took up some time and space. There you have it.

Talking to Saki would be... interesting. He didn't really need to talk to her to understand, not anymore. He fell into the trap of the people of Inaba just as surely as anyone, and he'd already done damage to his friendship with Yosuke. He could apologize all he liked, but he still did it, and Yosuke had no obligation to forgive his slip of the mind. So, now he understood in some way how this had come to pass for Yosuke. Why everyone could do these things and not bat an eye. But Saki refrained, even if she didn't reach out to help. She never contributed, and never participated. He felt like he could understand her trying to explain, now, if he asked questions. Though, now his questions were different from the ones he thought he'd be asking initially.

He caught her after a shift at Junes, though he knew it was a little rude. "Pardon me, Konishi-senpai. I was wondering if I could talk to you about something."

She paused, staring at him consideringly, for a few minutes. Yu didn't flinch, but he had the distinct impression that she was sizing him up. "I've been meaning to seek you out." She replied. "We can talk, Narukami-kun. Come with me."

She led him to her home, which surprised him. It was private, which gave them space to talk freely. He appreciated that. She said hello to her parents briefly, and gave a (warmer) hello to her brother, before taking him to her room and shutting the door.

"You want to talk about my friendship with Hana-chan." She said. It was a statement, not a question, but he nodded all the same. "As long as you answer my questions, I'll answer yours."

Yu nodded. "Was it the town's treatment of him that made you stop being friends?"

She managed a sad smile at that. "Straight to the point with you." She mumbled. "The short answer is yes. I couldn't take the backlash from both my family and the rest of the town for being friendly to him."

"What's the long answer?"

"You have to answer my question, first." Saki countered. Yu admitted to being surprised by her sudden ferocity, but he nodded for her to continue. "I'll go easy on you, first." She said with a little bit more of a smile. "Who told you to come to me?"

"Satonaka Chie."

"Ah, the meathead." She shook her head, but moved on before Yu could ask about her response. "The long answer is... I saw what was going on in the town, and I didn't agree with it. Hana-chan doesn't deserve what the townspeople do to him, at all. It's malicious and awful, isn't it?" She shook her head. "But at the same time, I knew I couldn't stop them. I knew I'd be thrown into the same pit they want to throw him into. I abandoned him. There are reasons, but it doesn't matter. I abandoned him to save myself. And he smiles sadly at me, because he understands why I did it, and I know I can't go back to being his friend because of that."

Yu digested this. He didn't believe she couldn't be Yosuke's friend again, but it wasn't his place to tell her that. She'd made her choices, no matter the reasoning behind them. It was... honest, in a way, that she understood what she'd done and knew she had to live with that. He could respect that, for now. Perhaps one day, things would be different. He'd make them different if he had to burn the whole town down to do it. "...You have the next question, Koinishi-san."

"You can call me "Saki", if you'd like." She replied. "And my next question... What are you doing with Hana-chan? What are your intentions?"

Yu outright laughed at the phrasing, but genuinely so. Saki seemed to surprise him at every turn so far. "My intentions? Could you elaborate a little more?"

"Hana-chan might not be my friend anymore, but I care about him. He's gone though enough already, and if you're only being friendly out of a sense of pity, or obligation, and you don't care about him... then it'd be better for you to stop entirely. He's been through enough heartache at the hands of this awful town." Her hands curled into fists as she finished speaking. Yu thought her voice sounded bitter as she chose her words.

"In that case." He nodded. "I'll be honest with you, at first he was like a stray cat to me. I noticed he wasn't eating lunches, but I could get him to eat if he thought my food was weird enough, so... I kept bringing different food, to distract him and at least get something in his stomach. But I've hurt him already. I spoke thoughtlessly, and I can apologize, but I broke his trust in me. This isn't about him being a stray anymore, or even just about pity. I want to be his friend. When he's not surrounded by the town's opinions of him, he's funny and engaging and I think he's a good person in a bad circumstance. I like him, simple as that.

"So I want to keep being friends with him, if he'll let me. I want to keep making him smile and laugh at my lunches, I want to hear him be happy, even if it's only for brief moments during the day. He deserves better from everyone, but especially from me. I'm just as much an outsider as he is, really, so I don't have to worry about my family with the choices I make. Though... I guess I wouldn't have to worry, anyway. The townspeople think I'm some Golden Boy who can do no wrong."

"I've certainly noticed that." Saki commented dryly. But she smiled in approval all the same. "It's a relief that Hana-chan has someone like you, if you can make things better for him."

He noted the use of "if", but that was fair. Saki didn't have to trust him right away. He'd prove it, to her and Yosuke. "Did you mean to say "heartache", earlier? That seems like a pretty specific word to use."

"Hm. You've heard of the Hanamura Challenge, haven't you?" Yu nodded, and Saki continued. "It's bad enough that they belittle him, and blame him for Junes being here even though the store was being built long before he ever set foot in Inaba, but the students decided to take things further. They write him fake love letters and laugh at him when he takes them seriously. Heartache, in that case, is more than accurate."

She looked down at her hands. "My friends... or, rather, the others in my class, asked me more than once if I was doing the Hanamura Challenge. It was easier to say yes than to explain that we were just friends. I felt awful for saying it. Hana-chan doesn't know that I said it, of course, but I feel bad anyway. It's despicable, what they're doing. You have no idea how many times, even in our brief friendship, that he came to me with a smile on his face, holding one of those letters, saying "this time, it'll be different". They take advantage of his desperate need to believe in something good, and I hate that most of all. He believed it for so long, longer than I thought anyone could."

Yu's heart broke at those words, even as he felt truly livid at the things Saki told him about the Hanamura Challenge. He knew about it, on some level, but not at how vicious it truly was. It was his turn to curl his hands into fists, trying to contain the tempest that was his viscous anger. "So... So that's it." He said, and his voice was like ice. "They don't care if they kill him. They don't _think_."

"I couldn't stop them. But maybe you can." Saki said, and Yu looked up at her. "At least, I hope you can. Hana-chan shouldn't have to die for Inaba's hate of Junes. The question is, are you going to?"

"I certainly have no intention of letting them get what they want." Yu replied, voice dark with anger and frustration. "Do you have another question for me?"

"How much do you like Hana-chan?" She asked without missing a beat. "I have no right to be protective of him, I know. Still..."

"Still, if you could make a different choice, you'd want to continue being his friend. And you like him enough to want the best for him?" Yu offered, since she couldn't seem to find the words to finish her sentence. She remained silent, watching him with hawk eyes. "...I like him. I said that. Maybe it could be... more, bigger than just friendship. Maybe it's nothing more than friendship. It doesn't matter to me. Getting to know Yosuke has been slow, but I wouldn't take back any of the time I've spent catching glimpses of the person he'd be if he hadn't been torn down by these vicious people. He's not perfect, but neither am I. We're still young, and he's got a capacity for love and kindness despite Inaba. I think that's worth more than anything they could say about him, or any mistakes he could make. I hope that eases your mind somewhat." But Yu kept going before she could say anything in response. "Did you return his feelings at all?"

"Oh." Saki's face fell at that. "Um... No. And for a little while, I led him on and let him nurse that crush. It's hard not to fall for someone who treats you nicely in the middle of this situation. I don't know if he ever knew if his feelings were real or if they were just because I was nice to him... but I guess it doesn't matter. One way or another, I broke his heart, too." She chuckled at that, and it sounded sad to him. Sadder than anything else said thus far. "...I guess, in some way, my lie became kind of true. I didn't give him a fake love note, but I participated in the Hanamura Challenge in some way, didn't I?"

"I don't think I'm in a position to judge you for that." Yu shook his head. "But if you feel like you did that to him, then you should apologize too. He might not forgive you, but you don't need him to forgive you. You need to do better than the mistakes you made before. That's what I'm trying to do."

When he looked at the clock, he realized he needed to get home, or else Nanako would worry about him. "Wait." Saki said, as he stood up. "One more question, it'll be a short one." She took a deep breath, and Yu gave her the time to collect herself. "You'll keep being Hana-chan's friend?"

At that, he smiled. It was a dangerous smile, sharp and deliberate. "The only person who can stop me is Yosuke himself." He gave a polite goodbye to Saki, and she walked him out to the front door. He didn't know if he'd succeeded in his quest for understanding, really, but now at least what really bothered him about Inaba and how they treated Yosuke was put into words.

They wouldn't kill Yosuke. He vowed that.

 

\---


	4. Fake (Investigation pt 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the evidence comes into place, and he understands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I listened to the song I used for this chapter title on repeat while my brother watched me type this in a google doc lmao.  
> also I don't know moderation at all, so I basically typed up most of the Investigation chapters over my weekend off work.
> 
> I certainly won't guarantee updates like this again, but hey. Here they are for reading pleasure.
> 
> Warnings for suicide mentions, and flippant disregard for someone's life.

Yu shouldn't have let himself be distracted by Chie. He knew that, he  _ knew _ that, but he still got caught up in an attempt to help explain something about the lesson. Being helpful, trusting people more than he ever really should in this town. By the time he sensed something wrong about the conversation behind him, Yosuke was in shambles and Yukiko was smiling serenely. For someone so clearly out to burn the world around her, her smiles could be like ice. It chilled him to the bone. Still, he proceeded with caution. Yosuke wouldn't stay, he could see him ready to run out of the classroom (and he didn't blame him at all), and he could confront Chie and Yukiko when he left.

He didn't chase after Yukiko and Chie as soon as Yosuke was out of sight; the last thing Yosuke needed was to feel like Yu was chasing him down. He patiently packed up his lunch, and took his bag with him as he went to where he knew he could find Chie and Yukiko. They'd invited him multiple times to join them, after all.

He found them giggling in their usual lunch place, and for a brief moment he saw red before he calmed himself down and put on the coldest expression he could manage.

"Narukami-kun!" Yukiko exclaimed, with a warm smile for him. Nonetheless, he knew how to look for the sharp edges of it. "You came to join us."

"Hanamura probably ran off somewhere, he's such a spaz." Chie added, with a dismissive wave of her hand. He remained silent, staring at them, until the silence became tense and uncomfortable.

"I only stopped by to ask a question." Yu said, once they'd both stopped smiling. "Could you two meet me after school?"

"Oh, of course!" Yukiko replied with a nod. "That shouldn't be too much trouble, right Chie-chan?"

"I mean, I'm up for it! Where do you wanna hang out, Narukami-kun?" Chie nodded in response.

"I don't. Want to hang out, I mean. I only want to ask a couple of questions of the two of you without taking too much time from lunch." He left them, rudely, and went back to the classroom in case Yosuke came back. He didn't want to spend more time making himself angry when he still had the rest of the day to go through, and Yosuke had already been hurt so viciously.

He didn't know what it was they said, yet, but he had a dark feeling about it anyway.

 

\---

 

"What did you do." Yu demanded as soon as he had the two of them suitably out of the way of lingering students and Yosuke's mad dash out of the school. "At lunch. Don't pretend that you didn't do anything, we both know better than that." His last sentence was more directed at Yukiko, but she met his gaze patiently while Chie puffed up in indignation over his tone.

"All I did was ask for your help understanding the lesson, I didn't think that deserved an interrogation." Chie responded first, crossing her arms in an unconscious defense.

"No. I doubt you cared one bit about the lesson. You were just a distraction so  _ she _ ," he gestured with a sharp tilt of his head toward Yukiko, "could say something that upset Yosuke-san."

"What the hell's your problem?" Chie interjected, but Yukiko giggled behind her hand.

"I didn't tell him anything he didn't already know. I only... reminded him." She replied, staring right into Yu's eyes. He could see Chie frowning as Yukiko spoke, but he didn't waste time on that yet.

"Of?" He prompted, voice hard as steel.

"Of what Inaba thinks of him. That's all." She smiled innocently enough, but he didn't buy it for a second. He advanced on her, ignoring Chie's attempts to push him back, and forced her to look up at him as he moved closer.

"What did you  _ say _ to him, Amagi." He said, voice low and dangerous with intent. "I'm not here to play games, I'm here to get answers."

She didn't betray any fear, for whatever that was worth at this point. When she didn't speak up, Yu waited patiently. He was in her personal space, uncomfortably so, but he could wait this out. She would not deter him from getting his answers. He brushed Chie's grasping hands off him, all his focus intent on the bigger danger pinned under the weight of his  _ fury _ .

"...I said everyone would understand if he just disappeared off the face of the planet." She eventually said, casually, flippantly. This time, Yu let the red feeling well up inside him. His hands curled into fists.

"Are you too much of a coward to say what you mean, Amagi?" He asked. "You didn't strike me as the type."

"Was I not clear? You understand, don't you?"

Yu stepped back, and his smile was  _ vicious _ . It even made Yukiko recoil the slightest bit. "I  _ do _ understand, now. I understand that I'm wasting my time with the both of you."

He turned around and left without another word, despite Chie shouting after him, despite her chasing after him and demanding he explain his rude actions. He brushed her off again, too busy burning  _ red _ to notice her, or the bruises she left on his arms for trying to grip him hard enough to get him to  _ stop _ . He didn't care; bruises were a small price to pay in this town, compared to what Yosuke went through on a daily basis.

 

\---

 

Chie slammed her hand on his desk as soon as Yosuke was around the corner. He saw her advancing as Yosuke got up from his seat, but he was prepared for it. He didn't flinch as he looked up at her. "What do you want?" He asked flatly.

"An explanation for yesterday! And an apology for Yukiko-chan." She said, leaning over him as if she could use the same intimidation tactic he'd used on Yukiko yesterday.

"I will give you an explanation, but I will not apologize." Yu replied easily. Yukiko sat down on the edge of his desk, staring at him in silence for now. "I don't owe apologies to people like you."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, seemingly innocent but with an ice-cold voice.

"People who tell others to kill themselves and try to justify it as  _ nothing _ aren't worth my time, and certainly don't deserve an apology for being called out." He spoke in an even tone, but he wanted to get this over with before Yosuke came back from what he was doing.

"What? You're upset about  _ that _ ?" Chie looked to Yukiko, and back to Yu, and frowned when he didn't offer a response besides his most serious blank stare. "It was just a joke."

"It's never a joke. And not in this circumstance." Yu shook his head. "You trying to brush it off makes you just as bad as she is. I won't be friends with people like you."

"What?!" Chie exclaimed, making several heads turn. If they hadn't been listening before, the students still hanging around the classroom were certainly listening now. He didn't mind; Yu had nothing to say that he was ashamed of other people hearing. "What, you're dumping us for  _ Hanamura _ or something?" She continued, once Yu offered her no response to her exclamation.

"I should've done it awhile ago, honestly. I held out hope that maybe you could be reasoned with, but Yukiko proved that you couldn't. You have no concept, or maybe you don't care, of the fact that you're contributing to someone's  _ potential death _ ."

"Would it be such a bad thing? If Hanamura died?" Yukiko chipped in. She had the audacity to sound  _ pensive _ , as if her question had any merit as a  _ point of discussion _ . "If he died, they would shut down Junes. Things could go back to normal around here. He wouldn't have to trouble anyone anymore."

Yu barked out a mirthless laugh at that. "The fact that you can say that with a straight face, Amagi, is why I can't  _ stand _ you, and anyone who shares that sentiment. You all speak as if Yosuke-san built Junes with his bare hands, to spite you and the businesses already here. You all speak as if you don't  _ shop _ at Junes now that it's here. It's despicable, and lazy, and cruel. I don't have to waste my time on people who don't understand that."

"If Hanamura wasn't here--" Chie began.

"Junes would still be here, and someone else would be manager there." Yu cut her off. "Don't try to talk your way out of this. I know what you two  _ really _ think. The conversation is over."

Maybe they protested further, and maybe they tried to argue their cases. He honestly tuned them out. He said his piece, and it didn't matter what else they tried to say to him. He frowned, though, because the conversation was  _ over _ and they were still there.

"--least I know his goddamn name." Yosuke's voice cut in through his thoughts, and he turned to look over at him, just as other students did. 

That was the kind of thing he knew Yosuke had inside him, and it reminded him of the first time Yosuke spoke up on his behalf. There was a warmth in his chest at that, even as Yosuke stormed over and touched his shoulder and said they should eat lunch elsewhere. He didn't have to be told twice.

"Sounds good to me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brief explanation:  
> I've been sorta headcanoning that, in this AU, Chie and Yukiko are kinda taken by their shadows. Like, shadows as a Persona concept don't exist because there's no TV world, but for sake of quick explanation, their shadows are winning the battle of personhood here.  
> So, yeah they're ooc (especially since I'm writing them and I never played P4 myself lmao), but they're also kinda corrupted. They're mimicking behaviors that adults exhibit, whether or not they notice that they're doing it, and it's making them bad people. Maybe they'll grow out of it, maybe they won't. They're teenagers, which is to say they're not fully matured brains, and they can be cruel.
> 
> Even Yu is cruel, in some ways. Righteous Fury and Justice, but he can take things way too far. Even a force of Good can cause harm if it's powerful enough.
> 
> So yeah. This isn't my opinion of Yukiko and Chie in canon (though like, why the fuck did you kick yosuke in the balls for breaking your DVD, chie???), and I'm admittedly bummed that they, as two (lesbian) girls, are part of the villain cast within this AU, but. shit happens. People do stupid and mean and terrible things.


End file.
